A. Field of Invention
Some embodiments may generally relate to cartridge ammunition and/or related devices and methods.
B. Description of the Related Art
Cartridge ammunition, including shotgun ammunition, is known in the art. Various shot packing methodologies and configurations have been developed over the years to improve performance characteristics such as packing density, penetration, and shot pattern. For instance, it is known to use small diameter shot to increase packing density; however, this type of shot has very low penetration and is not suitable for large game or for self-defense. One way in which the packing density of larger shot has been improved in the past is to use non-spherical shot geometries. For instance, it is known to use circular cylinders, hexagonal cylinders, and nested conical shot. Another way in which attempts have been made at improving the packing density of larger shot is to stack a single column of larger spherical shot and pack the lateral interstices with much smaller spherical shot; however, this causes non-uniform penetration. This is particularly undesirable because loads are typically selected with a desired degree of penetration in mind. Therefore, ammunition having components with widely different degrees of penetration are likely to cause undesirable over or under penetration of the target. Thus, the approach to creating high-density loads of larger shot has been to use non-spherical shot or a combination of spherical shots having very large differences in diameter. What is missing and needed in the art is a high-density spherical-shot load with a more uniform shot size.
Some embodiments of the present invention may provide one or more benefits or advantages over the prior art.